Breitling Energy Corporation, one of the sponsors of Powering America Radio and whose CEO, Chris Faulkner is co-host, was awarded recently with the Excellence in Corporate Responsibility for the Southwest Region by the Oil and Gas Awards.

As I’ve been thinking about that recognition, this is a big deal. First, the panel of judges selected the Oil and Gas Awards is a who’s who in the industry, and there are 98 of them. That’s because the Awards cover 7 regions, including Canada, and with 25 awards categories per region, that’s a lot of judging.

Of particular note, the judges mentioned both Breitling Energy and Mr. Faulkner’s high public profile espousing the benefits of the shale oil revolution as one of the deciding criteria. Public education. Telling the other side of the story. Helping people obtain clear facts about what has been researched by academia, science, and the government.

In all those areas, not one single report has implicated fracking for any damage to the environment, water tables, or the air. In fact, a recent report by the unbiased American Lung Association, gave North Dakota exceptional marks for its air quality, in spite of the over 200 drilling rigs operating in the northwestern corner of the state in the now-infamous Bakken shale.

And taking such information to the public is what Chris Faulkner and Breitling Energy are about. And Powering America is still are the only daily terrestrial nationwide radio program discussing oil and gas for a full hour. Chris appears on CNBC, Fox Business, CNN International and the BBC frequently and writes opinions, editorials and is often quoted in major publications.

We’re going to carry this award proudly and seriously into 2015. If we can inspire communities, other producers, and the public to be responsible, then we can all have a win-win and most importantly AMERICA will continue to win the prospect of Energy Independence.